I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to techniques for managing mobility of relay nodes in a wireless communication environment.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services; for instance, voice, video, packet data, broadcast, and messaging services can be provided via such wireless communication systems. These systems can be multiple-access systems that are capable of supporting communication for multiple terminals by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. In such a system, each terminal can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. This communication link can be established via a single-in-single-out (SISO), multiple-in-signal-out (MISO), or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
In various wireless communication systems, relay nodes and/or other suitable network nodes can be utilized to enhance communication between an Evolved Node B (eNB) and respective user equipment units (UEs) served by the eNB. For example, in the case of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARM) transmission and/or another suitable repeat transmission scheme, a relay node can detect communication between an eNB and UE and assist on re-transmissions to the UE as required.
Moreover, in some network implementations, relay nodes can be configured to be mobile, where a mobile relay node can pass between respective eNBs to provide substantially continuous communication service for respective UEs associated with the relay node. However, if a relay node experiences problems during a handoff procedure from a source eNB to a target eNB, service degradation to the associated UEs, up to and including full service interruption, can occur. Accordingly, it would be desirable to implement techniques for managing mobility of a relay node throughout a wireless communication system with minimal impact on associated users.